Jury finds Musk’s Tesla at fault, ordering company to pay $200 million in damages

A jury has just found that Elon Musk’s company Tesla is at least partially at fault for a Tesla car crash that took place in 2019. 

As a result, Breitbart News reports that Musk’s company has been ordered to hand over about $200 million in damages.

The plaintiff’s attorneys, however, were asked for quite a bit more.

Tesla has to pay $200M for technology that failed to brake for pedestrians, killing a woman and injuring her partner.

We’re in a new phase of auto insurance claims, one where driver-assisted tech companies can be held partially liable in a crash. pic.twitter.com/rZpBWSXPwO

— Miriam Pinski (@mirijulip) August 1, 2025

Here’s how Tesla ended up in court:

Breitbart News explains that the lawsuit against Tesla stemmed from a deadly Tesla car crash that took place in 2019.

Per the outlet:

The lawsuit centers around a deadly crash that took place in Key Largo, Florida, involving a Tesla Model S electric sedan driven by George McGee. At the time of the incident, McGee was using Tesla’s Enhanced Autopilot, a partially automated driving system. According to court testimony, McGee dropped his mobile phone while driving and attempted to retrieve it, believing that Enhanced Autopilot would brake if an obstacle was in the way. However, he accelerated through an intersection at just over 60 miles per hour, colliding with a nearby parked car and its owners, who were standing on the other side of their vehicle.

As a result, 22-year-old Naibel Benavides died and her boyfriend suffered several injuries. The impact was so strong that Benavides’ body was found about 75 yards away from the impact site.

This case is unique in that it actually made it to trial.

ABC News reports that many similar cases against Tesla have been dismissed or settled.

The verdict is in

The Associated Press reports that Tesla now has to hand over $240 million in damages.

Per the outlet:

 A Miami jury decided that Elon Musk’s car company Tesla was partly responsible for a deadly crash in Florida involving its Autopilot driver assist technology and must pay the victims more than $240 million in damages. The federal jury held that Tesla bore significant responsibility because its technology failed and that not all the blame can be put on a reckless driver, even one who admitted he was distracted by his cellphone before hitting a young couple out gazing at the stars.

The decision could have a big impact on the industry.

Some lawyers are claiming that it “will open the floodgates” for similar claims to be brought.

Musk, at the time of this writing, has not commented upon the outcome. But, he continues to insist that the company’s autopilot feature is safe.

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